Former Horsham Rural City Councillor John Robinson has urged the next wave of councillors push for good governance.
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He has decided not to run for re-election.
Mr Robinson did not announce his intentions publicly before nominations closed on Tuesday, in the hope as many people as possible would become council candidates.
There are nine people running for the council's seven seats, and Mr Robinson said he hoped the new council could work in the best interests of the community.
"The way the last council performed, I think many people in the community were happy with the notion that all councillors be replaced, and start again. I think there is a lot of merit in that thinking," he said.
"In terms of advice for new councillors they only need to look at the annual community satisfaction survey. There are a number of lessons in that in terms of engaging with the community."
He said division in the council, and a belief it was not working in the best interests of the community, were partly why he was leaving council life.
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"It's fair to say in the last four years this council has been quite divided, typically on a vote of two versus five on a range of issues," he said, the two votes being his and fellow former councillor David Grimble's.
"While I might have been one of two votes that took things in a different direction, it still means I potentially didn't do my job as well as I could have; I failed to persuade at least two other councils to vote in favour of issues I raised.
"I've pushed very hard to make sure we listen to the community and represent the community view.
"Governance has been a substantial problem we have not been able to get any traction on. I think it's really for the community to comment on what we may or may not have done as a council."
Cr Robinson said the completion of roofing at Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange was an achievement of the most recent council, though the exchange was equally funded by users and ratepayers.
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Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
